I Feel You Forgetting Me
by Aruberry Cheesecake
Summary: After being rescued by the Akatsuki from Orochimaru's laboratory, Chi regains the memories that she had lost. Chi has the choice to accept her dark past or to let it control her, choosing between reality or fantasy. ItachiXOCXSasuke OCXakatsuki
1. 1: Water

I Feel You Forgetting Me

Author's Note: I hope you enjoy! And for Chobits fans I did name and sort of base my character off of Chi.

Ch.1: Water

The word of Sasuke defeating Orochimaru traveled faster than light. Most villages, if not all, were struck with this sudden and dramatic news.

Sasuke was looking for the four ninjas to create his own unit: Karin, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Chi.

Sasuke searched for Chi first, knowing that she was in Orochimaru's experiment lab. As Sasuke opened the steel doors to find her, he was met with an empty chamber with nothing but a note.

"_Someone has beat you to it. I hope to see you soon. –Chi"_

Sasuke was in complete shock, crumpling the note after reading it. In anger, he punched the wall leaving a huge dent. He was left oblivious to who would have taken her since no one ever knew anything about Chi and her experimental design with Orochimaru. Sasuke had not expected this frustration of losing not only an addition to his intended unit, but a friend.

It was a lost cause for Sasuke, he knew it would be fruitless to go in search for her. Upset with the diversion in his plan to gather his unit, he searched for Suigetsu, hoping he hadn't disappeared as well.

_A few days before Sasuke defeats Orochimaru._

Chi was in her cell, painting a picture of what she thought was the ocean. Since Chi could remember, she has been an experimental project of Orochimaru. She was brought to the hideout a few years ago but was unable to remember anything before her encounter with Orochimaru. She couldn't even remember her name so she named herself the syllable that was easiest to say and spell for her: Chi.

Orochimaru found Chi's unique ability to deflect any type of genjutsu interesting. She was also a phenomenal artist and her abilities allowed her to bring her art to life.

After she finished painting her conception of the ocean, which was water but instead of sand it was an evergreen forest bordering the water, dhe conjured the water from her painting. She used her painted ocean to splash her face but the water quickly evaporated as Chi realized how depressing her situation was.

Unable to discover the outside world, she was forced to play on her fantasies, basing it off the little flashes of memory she had left.

She felt eyes on her outside of her cell, she turned her head to see familiar red eyes with the sharingan mark.

"Sasuke?" Chi hoped, Sasuke was her only friend in Orochimaru's lair. After Orochimaru's failed experiment to incorporate Sasuke's sharingan abilities with Chi, Sasuke and Chi grew a bond. They both understood their status as two experimental rats trapped in a cage.

However, the figured emerged from the shadows to display a man with a black coat covered with red clouds. Chi squinted, "you're not Sasuke… but you have his eyes."

"If I told you I could get you out of here, would you leave with me without a struggle?" the stranger asked.

Chi didn't know how to respond at first. She fantasized everyday of leaving this prison but not in this way, Sasuke had promised her he would be the one to save her after he had defeated Orochimaru. Ever since that promise, she anxiously waited for that day.

"Who are you? How can trust someone whom I've never met before," Chi was unsure of this situation.

Chi saw the stranger's physique change into a slightly shorter version of himself. He soon began to look like Sasuke.

"Your genjutsu doesn't work on me. You're not Sasuke," Chi said defensively.

The stranger changed back to his original form and introduced himself, "so what he said was true, you aren't affected by my sharingan. My name is Itachi and I was ordered to come get you."

"Ordered by who?"

"By my leader."

"Who is…?"

Itachi became annoyed with all the questions and what annoyed him even more was that he couldn't use his genjutsu to make her come with him willingly. Instead, he broke down the cell that kept Chi imprisoned and lent out a hand.

"We don't have much time."

Chi, in impulse, grabbed his hand. But before she was dragged out of her cell, she wrote a quick note to tell Sasuke that someone has beat him to it.


	2. 2: Shell

AN: Hope you enjoy! & thank you for the reviews!

Chapter 2: Shell

It's been a couple of days since Itachi had taken Chi from Orochimaru's possession. They met up with Kisame soon after, who was waiting for Itachi outside the hideout since unlike Itachi, Kisame is unable to move through security so swiftly.

Chi's first impression of the outside world was almost that of a puppy when it first explores its surroundings. She was curious of everything around her.

Chi was so fascinated by the world outside her cage that every few steps she had to stop to appreciate nature and its beauty. She picked up simple objects, such as flowers and stones, to ask Kisame and Itachi about its nature.

However, this had become a nuisance to Itachi and he wanted to get back to the Akatsuki hideout as soon as possible so he ended up just carrying Chi throughout the way in aggravation.

"I want to see more!" Chi argued but Itachi forcibly picked her up and sped across the forest.

Chi couldn't help but to stare at Itachi's features while it felt like he was almost traveling faster than light. She was awed by his resemblance to Sasuke.

Itachi caught her glance and Chi quickly looked away, embarrassed.

Itachi rolled his eyes, "let's stop here and rest. It's dangerous to travel when it's this dark."

Kisame nodded and they rested at a nearby meadow.

As soon as Chi saw water she ran up to the meadow and childishly splashed around in the shallow water. Despite the darkness of the forest and cold musky atmosphere, Chi's excitement glowed brighter than the stars.

Kisame and Itachi gave each other odd looks, they felt like their mission had resorted to nothing but mere babysitting.

"It's just what I thought it would feel like. This is the beach, isn't it?" Chi asked in excitement.

Kisame chuckled, "this isn't the beach, it's not even a large amount of water. It's just a small creek flowing from the mountains."

Chi's jaw completely dropped, "this water flows through the mountains?"

Chi started spinning around in circles, and without realizing it, the droplets of stream water that have been splashing around her stood still in thin air, creating almost a liquid shell. It almost seemed like time stopped, as the droplets of water did not fall by gravity. Oblivious to this odd phenomenon, Chi continued to play with the water and soon the large amounts of still water rapidly surrounded her, solidifying into a liquid barrier.

Before she could notice that her surroundings had become blurred by water, the water had engulfed her completely. She started to drown within her water like cocoon; she tried to yell for help but water poured down her throat as she opened her mouth.

Itachi and Kisame were searching for a suitable place to sleep until Itachi felt a strange chakra. He turned around to the meadow to see a large liquid shell, his sharingan saw the figure of Chi being submerged in water.

Itachi quickly reached out for her through the thick liquid barrier before she could completely drown.

Chi started to cough profusely. Kisame used his water jutsu to take the water out of Chi's lungs for her to breathe. She wad dozing in and out of consciousness.

Her white clothes became sheer due to the water, causing Itachi to be a bit flustered. He grabbed his Akatsuki coat and wrapped it around her but realized his coat would be useless unless her clothes were dry.

"This is my mission, to bring her back to the hideout alive and well," Itachi reminded himself.

Fortunately, the darkness allowed for some cover as Itachi took off her wet clothes. However, the outline of her body in the shadows gave him almost a raw feeling throughout his body. He quickly wrapped her around his coat before his mind could wander any longer.

Kisame was investigating the meadows to see if there was external cause to this incident but he felt nothing irregular in the water.

"Was it her?" Kisame asked Itachi, giving him a suspicious look as Kisame saw Chi's wet clothes tossed aside.

Itachi rolled his eyes as he saw what Kisame was thinking, "I don't know, but my sharingan didn't sense another being to be the cause of this. I did notice a strange chakra surrounding her however…."

Itachi felt his stare transfix onto Chi's peaceful face as her breathing started to stabilize in her sleep. He was curious of her, just as how she had been curious of everything around her.

"Karin, can you find her?" Sasuke ordered. His unit had all been gathered besides Chi.

"I'm trying to… it's almost as someone is blocking her chakra so she can't be found… but I can sense her with two other ninjas… One of them has a very strong chakra but it's hard to locate where they are. It's almost like your chakra, Sasuke."

Sasuke bit his lips, he had figured that the Akatsuki had something to do with this.

"So she'll be on the way of defeating Itachi, since she's most likely with him and the other akatsuki members. But what would they want with Chi, she was kept classified with extra surveillance under Orochimaru's orders."


	3. 3: Sinking

AN: Hope you enjoy!

Ch. 3: Sinking

"Sasuke, what's it like in the outside world?" Chi asked as the two of them were wandering around the hideout before Orochimaru could return from his long mission. They took advantage of every moment Orochimaru wasn't breathing down their necks.

"Not that great, it's almost as dark and depressing as this hideout," Sasuke shrugged pessimistically.

"I don't believe you, I want to see it! Orochimaru's not here so you can take me out!" Chi insisted.

Sasuke thought about Chi's request for a few moments and nodded, "fine, but only because you're with me."

Sasuke led Chi through what it seemed like a complex maze. They soon saw streams of light seeping through the rocky walls. However, to Chi's disappointment they were not outside the hideout. Instead, they were in a cave-like tunnel where only bits of the forest surrounding them could be seen through the cracks.

"This isn't outside Sasuke," Chi pouted, "we're still trapped in here."

Sasuke smirked as he used his chakra to crack a small opening between the layers of rocks. Sasuke pulled his body above the opening and lent out a hand so Chi could do the same.

They both ended up on a cliff overlooking the forest, the moon was at its brightest and numerous stars filled the dark skies.

Chi's eyes opened widely as she tried to take in the beauty of her surroundings.

"Sasuke, this world is so amazing…"

Sasuke remained quiet and motionless.

"How can you say this world is dark and depressing, I think it's quite beautiful," Chi insisted.

"You're right, the world is beautiful. Just the people in it are disgusting," Sasuke turned to Chi, "just promise me that you won't try to leave the hideout without me by your side. The world is filled with horrible people who want to hurt you."

Chi felt chills from Sasuke's dark intonations, "have you been hurt by this world?"

There was a long pause before Sasuke could answer, "yes, but I'll let nothing touch you, Chi, ever."

She tried to reach out for him but Chi's vision of Sasuke started to vanish and she soon realized that everything surrounding her began to blur.

She shot up from unconsciousness to realize that it was only a dream. As Chi tried to recall her dream she remembered that that night did happen and that it wasn't solely a dream. The words _"I'll let nothing touch you"_ echoed through her mind.

"Finally, you're awake," Itachi interrupted.

Chi analyzed her surroundings to realize that she did not recognize the room she was in. She then recalled her incident with the water from the meadow and realized that they were no longer in the forest.

"Where am I..."

"You were completely drained of strength so waking you up was impossible. I ended up carrying you all the way to our akatsuki lair. I guess it was better that way or you might have gotten yourself into more trouble," Itachi smirked, "you almost died if Kisame and I weren't there to save you."

Chi tried to recall what had happened but she was oblivious. She just remembered having a fun time at the beach.

"I don't remember," Chi glared at Itachi's eyes and was instantaneously reminded of Sasuke.

"Sasuke! I need to find Sasuke! He's looking for me!" Chi started to panic, she quickly jumped off her bed and rushed to the nearest door. But before she could reach the door knob, the door started to open from the other side.

Chi was met with a tall man with bright orange hair and numerous piercings, she jumped backwards as she felt the gravity of his strange, mesmerizing eyes.

"Na..Natsumi…," Pain murmured.

"I need to find him!" Chi had completely ignored Pain as she ran past him to find the nearest exit. After running and searching for an exit for a significant amount of time, she found herself outside surrounded by sand and rocks. It was a barren desert with no life.

"I need to find him, he's looking for me," Chi thought insistently. Sasuke's promise echoed through her mind as she realized that she had broken it by agreeing to come here, _"promise me that you'll never go to the outside world without me by your side"_

Little did Chi know, she was barefoot in the middle of the desert. She felt the sand under the feet get deeper and deeper as she ran further away from the Akatsuki lair. She did not know where she was going but she felt she was getting closer to Sasuke.

Her movements came to a stop when she realized she could not pick up her feet anymore. She looked below to see that the sand had trapped her legs, preventing her from moving. The sand started to get deeper as she struggled, causing Chi to sink faster.

Soon, the sand dragged Chi up to her shoulders, making it harder for her to breathe. She found struggling useless so she finally gave up. Sasuke's voice echoed through her head again, _"I'll let nothing touch you". _She had a faint vision of his eyes, his kind eyes that promised her that he would let nothing hurt her.

"Sasuke, I need you…" was her last thought before the sand had stopped her blood flow, causing her to lose consciousness.

Itachi had been chasing her since she escaped and found her body almost fully submerged under sand. He quickly moved to her aid, but with caution he tried not to step over the quick sand. As he tried to pull Chi out of the sand, he noticed how it was too easy to move her.

"Wait, this isn't quick sand, this is just regular sand," Itachi thought, "so how did it sink her so quickly?"

Itachi carried her back to the Akatsuki hideout, he was beginning to think that an unconscious Chi was better than a conscious one.

He remembered her mentioning his little brother, Sasuke, before bursting out the doors. Itachi admitted he was curious to what relationship she could have had with him.

"Thanks for bringing her back, Itachi," Pain took Chi from Itachi's arms and sat her up on a stone seat. Pain took both his hands to support the weight of her unconscious head, he then started to rub her temples as he murmured something quietly.

"Natsumi, it's time to wake up," Pain ordered.

Chi's eyes shot up to find her face just inches away from Pain's, startling her.

"Do not be scared, it's me, Nagato," Pain whispered gently.

"Na..ga..to…" Chi tried to remember why that name sounded so familiar to her.

"I'm your brother," Pain's new information struck Chi like lighting, she felt her heart become heavy.


	4. 4: Memories

AN: Thanks everyone for the support, your feedback really motivates me to become a better writer and to put up chapters quicker! I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a bit... different? I'm actually almost close to the most recent chapters of Naruto right now (I think I have like 2 more volumes to go) and the plot is getting so good! I'm seriously going to be so sad when Naruto ends T-T. Why do all good things come to and end.. okay enough of me blabbing, enjoy the story!

* * *

><p>"I never had a brother, don't lie to me!" Chi yelled angrily. She tried to escape his grip but his strength was impeccable.<p>

"Orochimaru has placed a seal on your memories. I'm going to try to break it, but you have to trust me," Pain said calmly as he cupped Chi's face so that their foreheads would be directly against each other.

"NO! STOP IT! You're going to hurt me!" She felt Pain's chakra flow through her mind and body. The air surrounding them started to get thicker, making it harder to breathe.

Pain was having a hard time concentrating, "Natsumi, you have to calm down. Your powers are trying to release themselves from the seal as well, you just have to let me help lift it."

"Why do you keep calling me that! My name is Chi!"

"Your name is Natsumi and you are my younger sister."

But before she could refuse Pain's proposition, she felt a great flood of memories flow through her.

_I woke up in the middle of the night from what seemed like a bad dream. I smelled the metallic scent of blood around me. As my vision became more stable, I saw both my mother and father lying next to me on the cold floor._

_But something wasn't right, my parents were neither moving or breathing._

_I saw the pool of blood around us. Their faces looked peaceful, as if they were asleep, but I had known better. I didn't understand what had happened. I wondered if I was a ghost but my body was obviously tangible._

_There was a big wound in my stomach, as if something had gone through me. It should have killed me but I was alive. I just didn't understand. My parents were dead so why was I alive?_

_I wanted to cry but I could not find the tears. I wanted to scream but I could not find my voice. I felt dead, but this feeling was worse was death. The feeling of wishing to be dead but finding yourself living in a cruel reality. _

_I then realized that my brother was no where in sight. My whole body was screaming in pain but I had to find him. I needed at least a spark of hope to know that I wasn't alone._

_I searched all over the house but he was nowhere to be found. Did he die? Did he abandon us? Was he kidnapped?_

_I cried for a three days inside that house. The 4__th__ day, I packed what little I had. I didn't want to cry alone anymore. I was going to look for my brother, or at least something that would bring me hope. _

_It was in the midst of war and as a little girl traveling alone, I was constantly targeted._

_But after my parents' death, something awakened inside of me. I felt hopeless and detached. It started off with killing animals for food, and then I started killing people for survival. There was nothing in the way of my survival and I felt no remorse for the lives I've taken away. I reasoned that my life was more valuable than anyone or anything. I was entitled to my life and that is why I didn't die back then and why I couldn't die right now. _

_After almost a year of traveling alone, I taught myself ninja skills by observing those in the war. I became a formidable self-taught ninja. Filled with blood lust, my eyes soon awakened its __rinnengan._ _I thought my eyes were a gift from my parents. It protected me, but the rinnengan brought fear to anyone who has encountered it. I continued to be alone._

_But everything changed when I reached the Hidden Village of the Sand. _

_I snuck into a small cabin in search of food but the owner had discovered me. She was a small, old woman and I was set on killing her but surprisingly she was incredibly powerful. _

_She was the first person to not run away from my eyes. For some odd reason, I felt that she sensed the pain I had gone through. Her eyes were kind and wise, something I hadn't seen in a while._

"_Your eyes have immense power," she told me, "but power is nothing when it's not used properly. Let me take care of you, child. Your eyes are shut with hatred but I can open them for you."_

_The day grandma Chiyo took me in was the second time I cried since my parents' death, but these tears were different. They were tears of gratitude._

Tears couldn't stop flowing down Chi's face.

"You're with me now, you're safe," Pain took her in for a reassuring hug.

"Mom and Dad were gone. You were gone. I was so alone," Chi whimpered. She was so angry, yet so relieved. She wanted to hate her brother, but she couldn't. Her body was numb, and a constant piercing pain filled her head.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Sasuke woke up suddenly from his sleep after sensing a strong wave of chakra; it felt familiar to him.<p>

"Karin, wake up," Sasuke walked over to Karin, who was sleeping as well, and nudged her.

"Sasuke…" she said in a drowsy, yet infatuated voice.

"Did you sense that wave, I have a strong hunch that it might be Chi's."

Karin used her sensory powers and nodded, "it does seem like its Chi's but it's so strong, the source is pretty far away too… It's almost like a strong burst of chakra was released in an instance, but it's fading pretty quickly."

Sasuke felt this strong wave of chakra once before when Orochimaru had brought Chi into the hideout for the first time. He performed a memory sealing technique but her chakra levels were so immense that it required a significant amount of Orochimaru's strength to confine her chakra levels as well as her memories. Sasuke suspected that someone must have broken the seal to Chi's memories for her to release an immense amount of chakra again.

"What would the Akatsuki want with Chi… she's not a tailed demon… what do they know that I don't know?" Sasuke wondered.

"Her chakra's fainting fast, I can't track her at this rate," Karin commented.

"I guess we'll just have to keep looking for Akatsuki's hideout because we'll know for sure that she's there."

Sasuke thought to himself, "Killing two bird in one hit. Rescuing Chi and killing my brother."

* * *

><p>"Why did you bring her here, Pain?" Itachi approached Pain after Chi had been escorted to another room to get much needed rest.<p>

"Do you not approve of family unions?" Pain asked mockingly, referring to the tension between him and his little brother.

Pain's insulting attitude was irritating Itachi, "you never mentioned anything about your sister before. I'm just wondering what the occasion is."

Pain scoffed, "why so curious about my intentions Itachi? Are you threatened by her?"

Itachi rolled his eyes, he knew even if Chi were dangerous she would never even match up to his power.

"If she's your blood sister, then I assume that she has your rinnengan and that she can see through my genjustu like you can. Although that may be bothersome, it's not much of a hindrance," Itachi smirked, implying that even without his eyes he could defeat Pain.

"Well if you have to know, I've been looking for my sister for quite a time now. I was led to believe that she was dead after the raid at our house when we were young. However, a few years ago, I heard reports that a girl who could use all ninja elements, a trait only someone with the rinnegan can accomplish, was living in the Hidden Village of the Sand. I sent Sasori to retrieve her but she disappeared before he got there. I assumed that she ran away or someone had kidnapped her but never got any leads until a few weeks ago when I heard rumors that Orochimaru had been experimenting on a girl with special ocular powers, trying to combine it with Sasuke's sharingan. It was just a hunch, so I sent you, and you brought me my sister and I'm forever grateful," Pain said his last words with a sarcastic grin.

"You're ignoring my question. _Why_ is she even here, what connection does she have with the goals of the Akatsuki."

"You should understand Itachi, coming from a clan of inherited ocular techniques. There has to be inbreeding involved to reproduce more of the same genetics. Most clans with ocular bloodline limits reproduce between themselves to produce a generation of powerful ocular ninjas."

Itachi was just repulsed at Pain's nonchalant attitude when explaining how his sister would just be a pawn to produce a new generation of rinnengan users. Although he understood the incestuous relationships that went on even in his own clan, he never approved of marrying someone that closely related to you.

Itachi was disgusted at how Pain would use his own sister in that way. He figured that Pain didn't know the true importance of familial relations. This situation reminded Itachi of his own little brother, Sasuke. Itached sighed, this situation could not be helped though; he had no authority to interpose.

"I can't say I approve of your ways but as long as it doesn't get in the way of my own things then I couldn't care less." Itachi didn't bother to continue the conversation and left to go to his room, but on the way he saw one of the rooms opened to see Chi sleeping. Itachi paused to catch a glimpse of her face, trying to see if anything had changed but she still looked so at calm with her eyes shut.

Arguably, he saw her more when she was unconscious than conscious. He barely even knew her but he just felt so much pity for this girl. She had no one, her own brother is just using her.

He then understood why she held on to Sasuke so persistently, he's really the only one who might have genuinely cared for her.

Itachi thought to himself, "_Sasuke's heart is still a blank canvas. The right person could paint it whatever color he wanted. His supposed love for this girl could easily be distorted._"


End file.
